Method and system for detecting use of garage

ABSTRACT

A system and method for detecting if a vehicle is being parked in a garage is disclosed. The method includes detecting sensory information at a vehicle and comparing the sensory information with ambient conditions outside of a garage to determine if the vehicle is likely in the garage or outside. The sensory information may also be compared to ambient conditions inside of a garage to determine if the vehicle is likely inside the garage or not. The method also includes sending reminders to vehicle owners who are not using their garage frequently. The method also includes automatically adjusting an insurance policy according the frequency of garage use.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/022,827, filed on Sep. 16, 2020 and titled “Method and System forDetecting Use of Garage”, which application is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/424,602, filed on May 29, 2019 and titled“Method and System for Detecting Use of Garage”, which applicationclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/753,105, filed Oct. 31, 2018 and titled “Method and System forDetecting Use of Garage,” the disclosures of each of which applicationsare incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to methods and systems forautomatically detecting use of a garage, and in particular to usingsensors to detect when a vehicle is parked in a garage.

BACKGROUND

Vehicle owners are often required to have vehicle insurance in the eventof damage or loss to the vehicle or its contents. To calculate a vehicleowner's insurance premium an insurance provider may consider a varietyof factors. These can include the cost of the vehicle, the condition ofthe vehicle, the age of the vehicle and the driver's age.

Storing a vehicle in a garage may help to deter vehicle theft. Someinsurance providers may therefore offer discounted premiums to driver'swho park their vehicles in a garage. However, providers do not have away to confirm that the driver is using the garage on a regular basis.

There is a need in the art for a system and method that addresses theshortcomings discussed above.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a method of determining if a vehicle is being parked in agarage, where the vehicle is associated with an insurance policy,includes steps of retrieving sensory information from a first sensorassociated with the vehicle, retrieving sensory information from asecond sensor, the second sensor being disposed further from the vehiclethan the first sensor, and comparing the sensory information from thefirst sensor with the sensory information from the second sensor todetermine if the vehicle is parked in the garage. The method alsoincludes a step of sending a message to an owner of the insurance policywhen the vehicle has not been parked in the garage at least once withina predetermined period.

In another aspect, a method of determining if a vehicle is being parkedin a garage, where the vehicle is associated with an insurance policy,includes steps of retrieving sensory information from a first sensorassociated with the vehicle and retrieving ambient condition data from aremote server. The method also includes steps of comparing the sensoryinformation from the first sensor with the ambient condition data fromthe remote server to determine if the vehicle is parked in the garageand sending a message to an owner of the insurance policy when thevehicle has not been parked in the garage at least once within apredetermined period.

In another aspect, a method of determining if a vehicle is being parkedin a garage, where the vehicle is associated with an insurance policy,includes steps of retrieving sensory information from a first sensorassociated with the vehicle and retrieving sensory information from asecond sensor, the second sensor being disposed externally to thevehicle. The method also includes steps of comparing the sensoryinformation from the first sensor with the sensory information from thesecond sensor to determine if the vehicle is parked in the garage andautomatically updating the insurance policy.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the disclosure willbe, or will become, apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following figures and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description and this summary, bewithin the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the followingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings and description. The components in the figures are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, likereference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout thedifferent views.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a process for detecting if a vehicle isbeing parked in a garage, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a system for receiving sensed informationand analyzing the information to detect garage use, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of various sensors that could be used withthe exemplary system of FIG. 2 , according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a process for determining if a vehicle isbeing parked in a garage, according to an embodiment;

FIGS. 5-6 are schematic views showing relationships between vehicletemperature and outdoor temperature in different situations, accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a process for determining if a vehicle isbeing parked in a garage, according to an embodiment;

FIGS. 8-9 are schematic views showing relationships between vehicletemperature and outdoor temperature in different situations, accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a process for reminding a policy holderto use a garage more frequently, according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a process for automatically updating aninsurance policy, according to an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Although GPS or similar location information may be available throughGPS receivers on a vehicle or on a mobile device (such as a smartphone)inside the vehicle, the provided locations may not be accurate enough toconfidently determine if a vehicle is located in a garage or in adriveway just outside of the driveway. Therefore the embodiments providesystems and methods that use other kinds of sensory information todetect whether a vehicle is being parked in a garage on a regular basis.

When the vehicle is not being parked in the garage on a regular basis,the system may automatically send a policy holder of the vehicleinsurance policy a message. If the policy holder is already receiving adiscount, the message may include a reminder to park the vehicle in thegarage more frequently so that the policy holder remains eligible forthe discount. If the policy holder is not already receiving a discount,the message may inform the policy holder about eligibility for thediscount. In some cases, the system can automatically adjust theinsurance policy to reflect a discount.

Garage use can be detected by analyzing various sensory informationassociated with the vehicle, the garage interior and/or the exteriorenvironment outside the garage. Differences in ambient conditions (suchas temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed, ambient lightlevels, as well as other ambient conditions) between the vehicle and theexterior environment can be used to determine if the vehicle is likelybeing parked in a garage. Similarly, similarities in ambient conditionsbetween the vehicle and the garage interior can be used to determine ifthe vehicle is likely being parked in a garage. By automaticallydetecting if a vehicle is being parked inside a garage or outside, thesystem and method can help an insurance provider save costs by ensuringdiscounts are only given to customers who are regularly parking theirvehicle in a garage. The system can also improve customer satisfactionby automatically adjusting insurance policies to reflect discounts forparking in a garage.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a process for detecting if a vehicle isbeing parked in a garage and also updating an insurance policyassociated with the vehicle, according to an embodiment. As used herein,the term “garage” refers to any building, shed or other structure usedto house one or more vehicle, including motor vehicles such as cars,buses, motorcycles and trucks. Although the exemplary embodiments aredirected to garages for motor vehicles such as cars, similar principlescould be applied to hangars for planes and other kinds of structures forstoring boats and other vehicles, especially vehicles that requireinsurance.

In the present embodiment, one or more of the steps in this process maybe performed by an insurance provider. The term “insurance provider” (orsimply “provider”) as used herein refers to any institutions orcompanies that provide insurance products. Insurance products caninclude home owner's insurance, renter's insurance, commercial propertyinsurance, and vehicle insurance. An insurance product may becharacterized by an insurance policy, which is a contract between aninsurance provider (the “insurer”) and a policy holder (the “insured”).In cases where vehicle insurance is provided, the policy holder may bean owner and/or driver of a vehicle. The policy holder may also bereferred to as a customer of the insurance provider.

In step 102, a provider may retrieve information from one or moresensors. As discussed in further detail below, the sensors could beassociated with a vehicle, with the interior of a garage, and/or with anenvironment external to a garage (i.e., a non-enclosed space). The typeof sensors could vary, and may generally include optical based sensors(for example, cameras), audible based sensors (for example,microphones), electrical sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors,pressure sensors, light level sensors, wind speed sensors, motionsensors, as well as other suitable sensors.

Next, in step 104, the information from the one or more sensors may beused to determine if a vehicle is being parked in a garage. Morespecifically, this step may include determining if the vehicle is beingparked in the garage with sufficient frequency. In some cases, theprovider may check that the vehicle is being parked in the garage atleast once within a predetermined period, such as once a day or once aweek.

In step 106, the provider may contact the policy holder. For example, apolicy holder who is already receiving a discount on their insurancepremium for having a garage may receive reminders when the providerdetermines that they are not storing their vehicle in the garagefrequently. As another example, a policy holder who is not alreadyreceiving discounts may receive information about insurance premiumdiscounts when the insurance provider detects that the policy holder isparking their vehicle in a garage with sufficient frequency.

In step 108, the provider may update an insurance policy correspondingto the vehicle. In some cases, the provider could automatically removediscounts for having a garage when the garage is not being usedsufficiently frequently. In other cases, the provider couldautomatically add discounts for regular use of a garage when the vehicleis being parked in the garage with sufficiently frequently (and when thediscount has not previously been applied to the insurance policy). Itmay be appreciated that adding discounts amounts to reducing aninsurance premium, while removing discounts amounts to increasing aninsurance premium.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of many of the systems and devices that maybe used to extract and process sensory data from a vehicle, garage orthe area outside of the garage. Referring to FIG. 2 , provider 200 maycomprise a centralized computing system 202. The term “computing system”refers to the computing resources of a single computer, the partialcomputing resources of a single computer, a plurality of computerscommunicating with one another, or a network of remote servers. In anexemplary embodiment, computing system 202 includes at least one server.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , centralized computing system 202 comprisesone or more computing devices 210 (for example, a server) that may be incommunication with one or more databases 212. Computing device 210 mayinclude one or more processors and a non-transitory computer readablemedium. Instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readablemedium may be executed by the one or more processors. Databases 212could be co-located with computing device 210 or could be remotedatabases that are accessible by computing device 210 over network 206.Databases 212 can include any kind of storage devices, including but notlimited magnetic, optical, magneto-optical, and/or memory, includingvolatile memory and non-volatile memory.

Provider 200, including computing system 202, may communicate with oneor more sensory devices (or simply, sensors). Sensors could be disposedin various different locations. Some embodiments may include sensorsdisposed externally to a garage. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , provider200 may receive sensory information from a set of external sensors 270that may be disposed outside of a garage 220. Set of external sensors270 may be used to sense the ambient conditions outside of garage 220.Some embodiments may include sensors disposed within a garage. In theembodiment of FIG. 2 , provider 200 may receive sensory information froma set of garage sensors 272. Set of garage sensors 272 may be used tosense the ambient conditions inside of garage 220. Some embodiments mayalso include set of vehicle sensors 274 associated with a vehicle 260.Set of vehicle sensors 274 may be used to sense the ambient conditionsinside of, or proximally to, vehicle 260.

Each of the sensors described above (including set of external sensors270, set of garage sensors 272 and set of vehicle sensors 274) may becapable of transmitting sensory information to computing system 202 ofprovider 200 over network 206. The format of the sensory information mayvary according to the type of sensory information being transmitted. Insome embodiments, communication with computing system 202 may befacilitated by another computing device. For example, in one embodimentsensors disposed in the garage and/or externally to the garage couldcommunicate with a central computing device located in a house or otherbuilding adjacent the garage. This communication could occur via wiredor wireless means. In some cases, the communication could occur over alocal area network. In some cases, the communication could occur over apersonal area network. The central computing device could thencommunicate with computing system 202 over network 206.

In some embodiments, information from sensors disposed in or on avehicle may be accessible through a diagnostics system 280 of vehicle260. Diagnostics system 280 may be associated with on-board diagnostics(OBD) capabilities. In some cases, diagnostics system 280 may comprisepart of an onboard computing system of vehicle 260.

In order to access diagnostics system 280, some embodiments may includean interfacing device 282. Interfacing device 282 may include any devicethat can interface with diagnostics system 280 and also communicate withcomputing device 202 over a network, or via an intermediate localcomputing device. Interfacing device 282 could communicate withdiagnostics system 280 using various interfacing protocols and hardware.Exemplary interfaces include OBD-I, OBD-1.5, and OBD-II. Interfacingdevices can comprise hand-held scan tools, mobile device-based tools,PC-based scan tools, data loggers and telematics devices.

In one embodiment, interfacing device 282 is a telematics device. Theterm “telematics device” refers to any device that can plugged into aninterfacing port (for example, an OBD-II port) on a vehicle and used totrack information from sensors and/or other onboard systems. In someembodiments, a telematics device may be configured to wirelesslycommunicate with other computing devices. In other embodiments, atelematics device may track and store information that can be accessedat a later time by removing the device and plugging it into anothercomputing device (for example, using a USB cord).

In some embodiments, location information for a vehicle can also beretrieved using an interfacing device 282. In the example of FIG. 2 ,vehicle 260 includes an onboard GPS receiver 266 that can receive GPSinformation. This information can be accessed by interfacing device 282via diagnostics system 280. In other embodiments, GPS information, orany other location or navigation information, can be retrieved from anyother suitable devices in a vehicle.

Provider 200 could also communicate with a user device 230, which may becarried in, or adjacent to, vehicle 260. User device 230 may comprise acomputing system for processing and communicating information. A userdevice may generally include a processor, a data storage component, anda display. A user device may also include components to facilitatecommunication with external systems (for example, hardware and softwarecomponents to enable communication over network 206). In some cases, auser device includes one or more physical buttons. In some cases, a userdevice includes touchscreen controls. Additionally, user device 230could include additional sensors including, but not limited to:accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, GPS receivers, barometers,proximity sensors and ambient light sensors.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 , user device 230 comprises amobile device. Specifically, user device 230 comprises smartphone. Inother embodiments, user device 230 could be a tablet computing device.In still other embodiments, however, a user device could comprise alaptop, a desktop computer, or similar kind of device.

Any of the devices described above may be configured to operate in aclient-server relationship with computing system 202 of provider 200.For example, computing system 202 may include a server that communicateswith interfacing device 282 over network 206. Computing system 202 couldalso communicate with sensors or local computing devices that arethemselves connected to sensors. Information from these various devicesmay be sent to computing system 202 for analysis and/or storing data.

In some embodiments, user device 230 may run client software to controlone or more sensors of the device, retrieve sensory information, storesensory information and/or send sensory information to computing system202 for analysis. In addition, messages may be automatically sent touser device 230 to inform a user of changes to an insurance policyand/or to request further action regarding the insurance policy.

In some embodiments, provider 200 may also be configured to communicatedirectly with third party services that can provide information aboutambient conditions outside of a garage. In one embodiment, computingsystem 202 of provider 200 can communicate directly with servers of aweather service 250. When the address of the garage is known, ambientconditions can be retrieved for the area including the garage. Examplesof ambient conditions that could be retrieved from weather service 250include, but are not limited to: temperature, humidity, pressure,ambient light levels, and wind speed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of various kinds of sensors that could beassociated with set of external sensors 270, set of garage sensors 272and/or vehicle sensors 274. It may be appreciated that different sensorscan be used with each set of sensors. For example, while vehicle sensors274 could include a temperature sensor, temperature information for theambient conditions outside of garage could be retrieved from weatherservice 250, rather than directly from a local temperature sensor.

Exemplary sensors include sensors for detecting ambient conditions,including temperature sensors 302, humidity sensors 304, wind speedsensors 306, pressure sensors 308 and light sensors 310. Exemplarysensors can also include motion sensors 312, electrical sensors 314,microphones 316 and cameras 318.

Temperature sensors 302 can be used to detect the ambient temperatureoutside the garage, the ambient temperature within the garage and/or thetemperature of the car, depending on the placement of the sensors. Anyknown temperature sensors could be used. By comparing the temperaturedetected at the vehicle with the exterior and/or garage interiortemperatures, it may be possible to determine whether the vehicle islikely outside or inside of the garage.

Humidity sensors 304 can be used to detect the ambient humidity outsidethe garage, the ambient humidity within the garage and/or the ambienthumidity around the vehicle, depending on the placement of the sensors.Any known humidity sensors could be used. By comparing the humiditydetected at the vehicle with the exterior and/or garage interiorhumidity, it may be possible to determine whether the vehicle is likelyoutside or inside of the garage.

Wind speed sensors 306 can be used to detect the ambient wind speedoutside the garage, the ambient wind speed within the garage and/or thewind speed around the vehicle, depending on the placement of thesensors. Any known wind speed sensors could be used. By comparing thewind speed detected at the vehicle with the exterior and/or garageinterior wind speeds, it may be possible to determine whether thevehicle is likely outside or in the garage. In some embodiments, it maybe assumed that the wind speed within a garage is negligible, and so nowind speed sensor may be required within a garage for comparison.

Pressure sensors 308 can be used to detect the ambient pressure outsidethe garage, the ambient pressure within the garage and/or the ambientpressure around the vehicle depending on the placement of the sensors.Any known pressure sensors could be used. In some cases, the pressuresensors are configured to detect barometric or atmospheric pressure. Bycomparing the pressure detected at the vehicle with the exterior and/orgarage interior pressures, it may be possible to determine whether thevehicle is likely outside or inside of the garage.

Light sensors 310 can be used to detect the ambient light levels outsidethe garage, the ambient light levels within the garage and/or theambient light levels at a vehicle, depending on the placement of thesensors. Any known light level sensors could be used. By comparing thelight levels detected at the vehicle with the exterior and/or garageinterior light levels, it may be possible to determine whether thevehicle is likely outside or inside of the garage.

Motion sensors 312 could comprise any kinds of motions sensors known inthe art. These may include, but are not limited to: passive infraredsensors, microwave sensors, and ultrasonic sensors. Motion sensors couldbe deployed at selective locations. In one embodiment, for example, oneor more motion sensors 312 may be disposed proximally to a garage doorto detect when a vehicle or occupant enters and/or exits the garage.

Electrical sensors 314 could comprise various kinds of sensors fordetecting electrical activity in one or more systems. For example,potentiometers, or devices for measuring current, could be connected toone or more components of a garage door opening system to detect whenthe garage door opens and closes. In another embodiment, electricalsensors could be connected to a light switch in a garage and informationfrom the electrical sensors could be used to infer how frequently thelight in the garage is being turned on and off. Knowing when the garagedoor is opened and closed, as well as when the lights are on or off,could be correlated with other information from a vehicle to determinewhether a vehicle is likely being parked inside or outside of a garage.

Additionally, any known microphones 316 and/or cameras 318 can be usedto detect audio information and optical information. By analyzing audioinformation and/or optical information, a provider could determine if avehicle is being parked in the garage. For example, video informationshowing a forward facing view of a vehicle just before the vehicle isturned off and after the vehicle is turned on may be analyzed todetermine if the vehicle is likely in an enclosed space, such as agarage. In some embodiments, sounds detected at a vehicle can beanalyzed to infer if the vehicle is more likely in an indoor or outdoorenvironment.

It may be appreciated that a user device (such as user device 230) couldalso include some of the sensors depicted in FIG. 3 . As an example,some user devices may include temperature sensors, humidity sensors,light sensors, motion sensors, microphones and cameras. In addition, auser device may also include a GPS receiver to determine locationinformation. However, user devices need not include all of the sensorsdepicted in FIG. 3 .

FIG. 4 is a schematic process for automatically determining if a vehicleis parked in a garage. For convenience, the following steps aredescribed as being performed by a computing system operated by aprovider (for example, provider 200 in FIG. 2 ). However, it may beappreciated that some of these steps can be performed by one or moresystems operated by another entity. In one embodiment, the followingsteps can be performed by software running on a computing system (forexample, computing system 202) that is maintained by a provider (forexample, provider 200).

It may be appreciated that the following steps could be performed at thetime that the sensory information is collected or could be performed ata later time. In one embodiment, the computing system may be incontinuous communication with the interfacing device (for example,interfacing device 282 of FIG. 2 ). In this case, the sensoryinformation can be retrieved and analyzed in real time, or in near realtime. In another embodiment, however, the sensory information can betracked and then analyzed at a later time, for example at regularlyestablished intervals like once a day, once a week or once a month.Moreover, in some cases all tracked data may include a time stamp,allowing sequential data to be analyzed by comparing different data setsat the same times.

In step 402, the computing system may retrieve location information tocheck that a vehicle is parked near a garage. As used herein, beingparked “near a garage” includes being parked directly adjacent a garage,as well as being parked in a garage. As already discussed, the GPSlocation may be sufficient to determine that a vehicle is parked “athome” but may be too inaccurate to determine if the vehicle is parked inthe garage or just outside of the garage. In some other embodimentsusing advanced GPS systems with high precision (for example, accuracy towithin 50 centimeters), the GPS location could be used to detect thatthe garage is parked inside or outside with a high degree of accuracy.In such a case, analyzing sensory information using the processdescribed below could serve as a confirmation for determining that thevehicle is in the garage (or not) directly from GPS locationinformation.

In some embodiments, the location information can be retrieved from GPSinformation determined by a vehicle's onboard computer using a GPSreceiver (for example, GPS receiver 266 of FIG. 2 ). In otherembodiments, the location information can be retrieved from user device230. User device may determine location information from a GPS receiver,from cell tower signal analysis, or using any other known methods.

If the computing system determines that the vehicle is not located nearthe garage in step 404, the system proceeds to step 406. At step 406,the computing system may continue to monitor location data for thevehicle until the vehicle is located near the garage. Step 402 and step404 may help reduce the amount of time the computing system spendsanalyzing sensory information, by excluding periods of time where thevehicle is not near the garage from further analysis.

If the computing system determines that the vehicle is located near thegarage in step 404, the system proceeds to step 408. In step 408 thecomputing system retrieves the outdoor ambient conditions outside of thegarage. In some embodiments, the outdoor ambient conditions can bedetermined by sensors disposed externally to a garage (for example, setof external sensors 270 of FIG. 2 ). In other embodiments, the outdoorambient conditions can be determined by looking up weather data from aweather service (for example, weather service 250).

Next, in step 410, the computing system retrieves the ambient conditionsdetected by any sensors associated with the vehicle. These can includesensors integrated into the vehicle (such as set of vehicle sensors274). These may also include sensors from a user device disposed in thevehicle (such as user device 230).

Following this, in step 412, the computing system may compare theambient conditions detected by the vehicle sensors with outdoor ambientconditions. Based on this comparison, the system can determine if thevehicle is likely parked inside or outside of the garage.

FIGS. 5 and 6 depict schematic views of exemplary data that might beused to determine if a vehicle is being parked in a garage or outside ofthe garage, over a particular time frame. Specifically, FIG. 5 shows anexample of a data signal that indicates that a vehicle is parkedoutside, while FIG. 6 shows an example of a data signal that indicatesthat a vehicle is parked in a garage. As seen in FIG. 5 , thetemperature detected at the vehicle (temperature 502) is substantiallysimilar to the outdoor temperature (temperature 504) throughout theentire tracked period. Most importantly, the temperatures coincide whenthe vehicle is parked, which is a period starting at 7 pm and lastingthe whole night.

By contrast, FIG. 6 depicts a data signal where the temperature detectedat the vehicle (temperature 602) diverges from outdoor temperature(temperature 604) once the vehicle is parked at 7 pm. In fact, around 7pm temperature 602, which is detected at the vehicle, shows a sharp dropof 5-10 degrees, indicating an immediate change in ambient conditions.Such an immediate drop is to be expected if a vehicle enters a garagethat has a lower ambient temperature than the surrounding air. After 7pm the outdoor temperature 604 continues to drop further, while thetemperature 602 at the vehicle remains substantially constant. Thisagain suggests the vehicle has been insulated from the outdoors by agarage.

It may be appreciated that patterns such as those depicted schematicallyin FIGS. 5-6 and be analyzed systematically. In some embodiments, theaverage difference between the temperature detected at the vehicle andthe external temperature over a given period could be calculated andcompared to a predetermined tolerance. If the average difference isgreater than the predetermined tolerance, it may be assumed that thevehicle was not outside for some or most of the given period. In anotherembodiment, the data could be analyzed for distinct patterns, such asdramatic dips and rises in the temperature at the vehicle that mayindicate that the vehicle has transitioned from outside to a garage (orfrom a garage to outside). In some cases, machine learning could be usedto detect patterns in the data associated with vehicles being parked ina garage vs. vehicles being parked outside.

Similar patterns in ambient conditions can be detected and analyzed forvarious other kinds of sensory information from any of the other sensorsdescribed above. These include, but are not limited to, comparinghumidity sensed at the vehicle with outdoor humidity, comparing windspeed sensed at the vehicle with outdoor wind speed, comparing pressuresensed at the vehicle with outdoor pressure and comparing light levelssensed at the vehicle with outdoor light levels. Additionally, someembodiments could compare two or more types of sensory information. Forexample, a system could compare both the temperature sensed at thevehicle and outside temperature as well as the humidity sensed at thevehicle and outside humidity. Using multiple sources of sensory data,when available, may help increase the accuracy of determining if avehicle is parked inside or outside of a garage.

In another embodiment, a computing system could compare informationsensed at a vehicle with ambient conditions within a garage. FIG. 7depicts a process of using information from sensors within a garage(such as set of garage sensors 272 of FIG. 2 ) and information fromvehicle sensors to determine if a vehicle is parked in a garage. Many ofthe steps of FIG. 7 may proceed in a similar manner to correspondingsteps in FIG. 4 . For example, step 702, step 704 and step 706 may besimilar to step 402, step 404 and step 406. However, at step 708, thecomputing system may retrieve the ambient conditions inside of thegarage from sensors disposed within the garage, rather than detectingoutside ambient conditions as in step 408.

Next, in step 710, the computing system retrieves the ambient conditionsdetected by any sensors associated with the vehicle. These can includesensors integrated into the vehicle (such as set of vehicle sensors274). These may also include sensors from a user device disposed in thevehicle (such as user device 230).

Following this, in step 712, the computing system may compare theambient conditions detected by the vehicle sensors with ambientconditions within the garage. Based on this comparison, the system candetermine if the vehicle is likely parked inside or outside of thegarage.

FIGS. 8 and 9 depict schematic views of exemplary data that might beused to determine if a vehicle is being parked in a garage or outsideover a particular time frame. Specifically, FIG. 8 shows an example of adata signal that indicates that a vehicle is parked outside, while FIG.9 shows an example of a data signal that indicates that a vehicle isparked in a garage. As seen in FIG. 8 , the temperature sensed at thevehicle (temperature 802) is substantially different than the garagetemperature 804 throughout the entire tracked period. Most importantly,the temperatures differ even when the vehicle is parked, which is aperiod starting at 7 pm and lasting the whole night.

By contrast, FIG. 9 depicts a data signal where the temperature detectedat the vehicle (temperature 602) converges with the garage temperature904 once the vehicle is parked at 7 pm. In fact, around 7 pm thetemperature 902 shows a sharp drop of 10-15 degrees, indicating animmediate change in ambient conditions. Moreover, the temperature sensedat the vehicle drops to match the garage temperature 904. Such animmediate change in temperature is to be expected if a vehicle enters agarage that has a lower ambient temperature than the surrounding air.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a process for sending messages to apolicy holder when the computing system determines that a vehicle is notbeing parked in the garage on a regular basis. In step 1002, a computingsystem identifies a policy holder as already receiving a discount forhaving a garage. Next, in step 1004 the computing system may retrievesensory information from one or more sensors.

Next, in step 1006, sensory information could be analyzed to detect if avehicle is being parked in a garage. This step may include any of themethods described above and depicted in FIGS. 4-9 . In step 1008, thecomputing system determines if the vehicle is being parked in the garagesufficiently regularly. This may include monitoring the vehicle andambient conditions of the garage and/or outside for some period,detecting how many times the vehicle is parked inside or outside of thegarage, and then determining if the frequency of parking the vehicle inthe garage is sufficient. In some cases, the number of times a vehicleis parked in a garage over a predetermined time could be compared to athreshold frequency.

If the vehicle is being parked in the garage on regularly (orsufficiently frequently), the computing system may proceed to step 1010.At step 1010, the computing system can continue periodic monitoring toensure the vehicle continues to be parked in the garage sufficientlyfrequently.

If the vehicle is not being parked in the garage on a regular basis, thecomputing system may proceed to step 1012. At step 1012, the computingsystem may send a message to the policy holder. This message can includea reminder to park his or her car in the garage more frequently tomaintain the current discount on their insurance policy (that is, ontheir premium or their deductible). This message could be provided viatext, email or even a call placed by a representative. In someembodiments, the message could be pushed to a mobile device through anapplication supported by the insurance provider. In still otherembodiments, the message could be provided on a display screen in avehicle prior to when the vehicle is first turned on, but before thevehicle is placed in drive or reverse.

It may be appreciated that in addition to determining a frequency ofgarage use (or non-use), the embodiments could be configured to detectthe total time elapsed in the garage or total time elapsed out of thegarage over a given period. That is, the total elapsed time the vehiclespends parked in the garage and/or the total elapsed time the vehiclespends outside of the garage. The analyses described above can be usedto detect not only when the vehicle is inside or outside of a garage,but also the duration of time the vehicle spends inside or outside thegarage. In some cases, the total time elapsed inside or outside of thegarage could be used to adjust insurance policy premiums such thatpremiums are generally lowered as the total time elapsed inside thegarage increases over a given period.

FIG. 11 is a schematic process adapted for a policy holder who is notcurrent receiving a discount for having or using a garage. In manycases, the presence of a garage may be determined when a new insurancepolicy is created. However, in some circumstances this information maynot be provided, or the garage could be installed/activated after theinitial insurance policy has been created. The exemplary process of FIG.11 provides a method of automatically updating an insurance policy inresponse to detecting garage use through sensed information.

In step 1102, a computing system identifies a policy holder as notcurrently receiving a discount for having or using a garage. In theexemplary embodiment, step 1104, step 1106, and step 1108 may proceed asstep 1004, step 1006, and step 1008, respectively, of the process shownin FIG. 10 . That is, the computing system may retrieve sensoryinformation, analyze the information, and determine if the vehicle isbeing parked in a garage regularly (or sufficiently frequently).

If the computing system determines that the vehicle is not being parkedin the garage regularly, the computing system may proceed from step 1108to step 1110. At step 1110 the computing system may continue to monitorgarage use. Since the policy holder is not currently receiving adiscount for garage use, no action may be necessary when they are notusing the garage.

If instead, at step 1108, the computing system detects that a vehicle isbeing parked in a garage on a regular basis, it may proceed to step1112. In step 1112, the computing system may automatically update theinsurance policy for the vehicle to reflect that the vehicle is beingparked in a garage sufficiently frequently. In some cases, the computingsystem can automatically update the insurance policy premium and/ordeductible to include a discount for having and using a garage to park avehicle. Next, in step 1114, the computing system may send a message tothe policy holder to inform him or her of the updates to the policy.

It may be appreciated that the above systems and methods may apply notonly to use of a garage attached to the home of the vehicle owner, butto other garages, including public garages, garages at the owner's placeof business or any other garages. Since parking the vehicle in a garagemay be advantageous in terms of risk mitigation, an insurance providercould use similar principles to those discussed in the exemplaryembodiments to determine if a vehicle is being stored in any kind ofgarage on a regular basis. In some cases, the provider may then offerdiscounts on insurance premiums for using the garage.

The processes and methods of the embodiments described in this detaileddescription and shown in the figures can be implemented using any kindof computing system having one or more central processing units (CPUs)and/or graphics processing units (GPUs). The processes and methods ofthe embodiments could also be implemented using special purposecircuitry such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Theprocesses and methods of the embodiments may also be implemented oncomputing systems including read only memory (ROM) and/or random accessmemory (RAM), which may be connected to one or more processing units.Examples of computing systems and devices include, but are not limitedto: servers, cellular phones, smart phones, tablet computers, notebookcomputers, e-book readers, laptop or desktop computers, all-in-onecomputers, as well as various kinds of digital media players.

The processes and methods of the embodiments can be stored asinstructions and/or data on non-transitory computer-readable media. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium may include any suitablecomputer readable medium, such as a memory, such as RAM, ROM, flashmemory, or any other type of memory known in the art. In someembodiments, the non-transitory computer readable medium may include,for example, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, anoptical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of suchdevices. More specific examples of the non-transitory computer readablemedium may include a portable computer diskette, a floppy disk, a harddisk, magnetic disks or tapes, a read-only memory (ROM), a random accessmemory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compactdisc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM or Flash memory), electrically erasable programmableread-only memories (EEPROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD and DVD-ROM),a memory stick, other kinds of solid state drives, and any suitablecombination of these exemplary media. A non-transitory computer readablemedium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitorysignals, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagneticwaves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or othertransmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-opticcable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.

Instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium forcarrying out operations of the present invention may beinstruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, assembler instructions,machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode,firmware instructions, configuration data for integrated circuitry,state-setting data, or source code or object code written in any of oneor more programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or suitable language, and proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages.

Aspects of the present disclosure are described in association withfigures illustrating flowcharts and/or block diagrams of methods,apparatus (systems), and computing products. It will be understood thateach block of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams can be implemented bycomputer readable instructions. The flowcharts and block diagrams in thefigures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation ofpossible implementations of various disclosed embodiments. Accordingly,each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module,segment, or portion of instructions. In some implementations, thefunctions set forth in the figures and claims may occur in analternative order than listed and/or illustrated.

The embodiments may utilize any kind of network for communicationbetween separate computing systems. A network can comprise anycombination of local area networks (LANs) and/or wide area networks(WANs), using both wired and wireless communication systems. A networkmay use various known communications technologies and/or protocols.Communication technologies can include, but are not limited to:Ethernet, 802.11, worldwide interoperability for microwave access(WiMAX), mobile broadband (such as CDMA, and LTE), digital subscriberline (DSL), cable internet access, satellite broadband, wireless ISP,fiber optic internet, as well as other wired and wireless technologies.Networking protocols used on a network may include transmission controlprotocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), multiprotocol label switching(MPLS), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), hypertext transport protocol(HTTP), hypertext transport protocol secure (HTTPS) and file transferprotocol (FTP) as well as other protocols.

Data exchanged over a network may be represented using technologiesand/or formats including hypertext markup language (HTML), extensiblemarkup language (XML), Atom, JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), YAML, aswell as other data exchange formats. In addition, informationtransferred over a network can be encrypted using conventionalencryption technologies such as secure sockets layer (SSL), transportlayer security (TLS), and Internet Protocol security (Ipsec).

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, thedescription is intended to be exemplary, rather than limiting, and itwill be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many moreembodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scopeof the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restrictedexcept in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. Also,various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of theattached claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for determining if a vehicle isbeing parked in a garage, the vehicle being associated with an insurancepolicy, the system comprising: a computing system of a provider of theinsurance policy; a first sensor associated with the vehicle, the firstsensor being at least one of a microphone or a camera; a second sensordisposed inside the garage separate from the vehicle, the second sensorbeing at least one of a light sensor configured to detect ambient lightlevels within the garage or an electrical sensor configured to detectelectrical activity inside the garage; wherein the computing system isconfigured to: retrieve sensory information from the first sensor;retrieve sensory information from the second sensor; correlate thesensory information from the first sensor with the sensory informationfrom the second sensor to determine whether the vehicle is parked in thegarage; calculate a number of times the vehicle is determined to beparked in the garage over a predetermined time period; and sending amessage to an owner of the insurance policy when the vehicle has notbeen parked in the garage at least once within the predetermined timeperiod.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second sensor isthe light sensor configured to detect ambient light levels within thegarage and the sensory information from the second sensor is a lightlevel detected within the garage; and wherein the sensory informationfrom the first sensor is a light level detected at the vehicle.
 3. Thesystem according to claim 2, wherein correlating the sensory informationfrom the first sensor with the sensory information from the secondsensor to determine whether the vehicle is parked in the garage furthercomprises: comparing the light level detected at the vehicle with thelight level detected within the garage.
 4. The system according to claim1, wherein the second sensor is the electrical sensor configured todetect electrical activity inside the garage; and wherein the electricalsensor is connected to a garage door opening system to detect when agarage door of the garage opens and closes.
 5. The system according toclaim 4, wherein the electrical sensor is a potentiometer.
 6. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the second sensor is the electrical sensorconfigured to detect electrical activity inside the garage; and whereinthe electrical sensor is connected to a light switch inside the garageto detect when a light inside the garage controlled by the light switchis turned on or off.
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein thefirst sensor is the microphone and wherein the sensory information fromthe first sensor is audio information; and wherein the computing systemis further configured to: analyze the audio information detected by themicrophone to determine if the vehicle is in an indoor environment or anoutdoor environment.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein thefirst sensor is the camera and wherein the sensory information is fromthe first sensor is video information; and wherein the computing systemis further configured to: analyzing the video information showing aforward facing view from the vehicle to determine if the vehicle is inan enclosed space.
 9. The system according to claim 8, wherein theforward facing view from the vehicle is obtained just prior to thevehicle being turned off.
 10. The system according to claim 8, whereinthe forward facing view from the vehicle is obtained just after thevehicle is turned on.
 11. A method of determining if a vehicle is beingparked in a garage, the vehicle being associated with an insurancepolicy, the method comprising: retrieving sensory information from afirst sensor associated with the vehicle, the first sensor being atleast one of a microphone or a camera; retrieving sensory informationfrom a second sensor disposed inside the garage separate from thevehicle, the second sensor being at least one of a light sensorconfigured to detect ambient light levels within the garage or anelectrical sensor configured to detect electrical activity inside thegarage; correlating the sensory information from the first sensor withthe sensory information from the second sensor to determine whether thevehicle is parked in the garage; calculating a number of times thevehicle is determined to be parked in the garage over a predeterminedtime period; and sending a message to an owner of the insurance policywhen the vehicle has not been parked in the garage at least once withinthe predetermined time period.
 12. The method according to claim 11,wherein the second sensor is the light sensor configured to detectambient light levels within the garage and the sensory information fromthe second sensor is a light level detected within the garage; andwherein the sensory information from the first sensor is a light leveldetected at the vehicle.
 13. The method according to claim 12, whereincorrelating the sensory information from the first sensor with thesensory information from the second sensor to determine whether thevehicle is parked in the garage further comprises: comparing the lightlevel detected at the vehicle with the light level detected within thegarage.
 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the second sensoris the electrical sensor configured to detect electrical activity insidethe garage; and wherein the electrical sensor is connected to a garagedoor opening system to detect when a garage door of the garage opens andcloses.
 15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the second sensoris the electrical sensor configured to detect electrical activity insidethe garage; and wherein the electrical sensor is connected to a lightswitch inside the garage to detect when a light inside the garagecontrolled by the light switch is turned on or off.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 11, wherein the first sensor is the microphone andwherein the sensory information from the first sensor is audioinformation; and the method further comprising: analyzing the audioinformation detected by the microphone to determine if the vehicle is inan indoor environment or an outdoor environment.
 17. The methodaccording to claim 11, wherein the first sensor is the camera andwherein the sensory information is from the first sensor is videoinformation; and the method further comprising: analyzing the videoinformation showing a forward facing view from the vehicle to determineif the vehicle is in an enclosed space.
 18. The method according toclaim 17, wherein the forward facing view from the vehicle is obtainedjust prior to the vehicle being turned off or just after the vehicle isturned on.
 19. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:repeating the correlation between the sensory information from the firstsensor with the sensory information from the second sensor over thepredetermined time period to calculate the number of times the vehicleis parked in the garage during the predetermined time period.
 20. Themethod according to claim 11, further comprising: automatically updatingthe insurance policy, based on the number of times the vehicle is parkedin the garage during the predetermined time period.